Chapter 615: Monday

The Emperor's luck was indeed a bit unlucky, perhaps because his first half of life had been too smooth, so all the waves of fate now gathered in his later years; Ke Lai En understood, nodded, and whispered a few sighs to himself.

Luo Sai Er glanced at the figure shrouded in gray mist, which looked rather leisurely, and, with a light laugh, said:

"Do you think this style of exploiting and distorting rules has the flair of a high‑rank 'Thief'?"

"I never thought of that; my knowledge of Thieves was limited to A Meng and the old man parasitizing Lun Na De. As the thought drifted, Ke Lai En lightly nodded and murmured:"

"Indeed."

Luo Sai Er leaned back slightly, pressed his back against the chair, rested his right elbow on the armrest, and, in a pose of serious contemplation, said:

"This idea comes from Lei Ke Dun; you should know him. When he operates outside, his false identity is called Al Tains. He plays that role so convincingly that without the Knowledge Church, anyone doing a simple check could uncover his true identity."

"'Seeker of Secrets' is also a way of learning well; compared with 'Reader', they better represent knowledge and are closer to knowledge itself."

"That guy must have had too much contact with A Meng, parsing and learning a lot of knowledge from him, and picking up some habits of that brat."

Brat. As a child of the Ancient Sun God, A Meng is, in a sense, indeed the neighbor's brat, but this brat's malice toward me is too great; he could take my life at any moment.

Ke Lai En forced a bitter smile, shook his head, and changed the subject:

"What did you see me for?"

Luo Sai Er paused, pulled a smile onto his face, his two neatly groomed little mustaches quivered, and, in a calm tone, said:

"I'm curious about the old countryman who can read my diary, and I also want to test a hypothesis: whether the follower of the 'Fool' that Beiernadai has seen is the same as the 'Fool' himself."

Ke Lai En was taken aback; he hadn't expected how his identity had been exposed. Relying on the information obtained from Beiernadai, he made a deduction? "It seems I guessed correctly."

Luo Sai Er stared at Ke Lai En shrouded in gray mist, gave a light laugh, and then said:

"I have another request: don't let Beiernadai translate those diaries, especially the ones where I record daily life; if she offers you conditions you cannot refuse, you may selectively translate the hints left by my successors."

"By the way, also don't let Jia De Li Ya know too much of the diary contents; this extraordinary world is too fantastical. I only slept, and when I woke up Beiernadai already had an adopted daughter, instantly elevating me to the grandfather generation."

"Emperor, even if we don't count the time you were hung in the gray mist, you're already a several‑hundred‑year‑old elder; the grandfather generation is already quite young." He muttered this in his mind, and Ke Lai En lightly nodded, saying:

"Sure."

Luo Sai Er nodded toward Ke Lai En and said, "Thank you very much; I hope you can understand how hard it is for an old father."

Ke Lai En reclined leisurely in the high‑back chair, his thoughts drifting unconsciously. In this state, Emperor Luo Sai Er seemed even younger, lacking the composure of his later diaries and the deeply hidden madness.

Seizing the chance, Ke Lai En discussed some questions about transmigration with Luo Sai Er, and only when the spiritual intuition of his body remaining in reality was triggered did he end the conversation and leave the gray mist above.

After pulling aside the curtain on the wall to let the room brighten, he finally walked to the doorway, turned the knob, and opened the door.

Lei Ke Dun had Tu Ba Ge and two cats behind him, standing neatly at the doorway watching him. He froze for a moment, instinctively touched his face, found no protruding nodules, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

Lei Ke Dun pointed at the two artisan cats wearing the same half‑high silk hats as Tu Ba Ge and calmly said, "They want to get a glimpse of the mad adventurer Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo."

Ke Lai En lowered his gaze to the two somewhat plump orange cat and cow‑pattern cat standing at his feet, met their admiring eyes, involuntarily averted his gaze, and hesitated: "I've been meaning to ask, why does Tu Ba Ge imitate Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo? What do you usually teach it?"

"I think I know the answer to that question."

Lun Na De, wearing a black long trench coat and red leather gloves, stepped out of the room to his side, and as he spoke he lifted the few magazine‑like booklets he was holding.

The exquisite cover bore several strikingly bold words: Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo's Great Adventure.

"The Great Adventure series is one of the best‑selling novels here, even available in different language versions, convenient for people living in various linguistic environments."

"However, I prefer the Black Forest Fairy Tale series; its stories are sufficiently bizarre and uncanny, written with rich imagination, fantasy, and exaggeration, suitable for readers of all ages."

Lun Na De spoke endlessly as if he were an art connoisseur.

Lei Ke Dun turned his head to glance at Lun Na De, did not expose the borrowed appraisal, withdrew his gaze, and looked at Ke Lai En, asking, "Do I need to pay you a royalty fee?"

"Sure." Ke Lai En nodded calmly. Lei Ke Dun froze for a moment, then laughed:

"I thought you would be polite; I was already about to nod."

"Even great adventurers need money," Ke Lai En restrained the urge to roll his eyes and casually asked, "What is the Black Forest Fairy Tale series? The Little Match Girl?"

Lei Ke Dun shook his head, and in a calm tone said, "The Little Girl Who Sells Nuclear Bombs."

"Just kidding, that's another chapter."

"If you're curious about these, you can go to Tu Ba Ge's room; he has the complete set of books there."

"It's lunch time now; I'll invite you all to dine together in the restaurant."

"Fine." "No problem."

Ke Lai En and Lun Na De each gave a reply.

Lei Ke Dun gave a slight nod, and, leading Tu Ba Ge and the two artisan cats, turned toward the stairwell.

After sharing lunch, Lun Na De and Ke Lai En each said their farewells and left, while only An De Sen chose to remain in Pas River Valley.

Facing Ke Lai En's questioning gaze, An De Sen shrugged, adopting a nonchalant tone: "I still have something on me that can attract high‑rank extraordinary hunters; before I resolve this risk, I don't intend to leave this place lightly."

Reverting to the appearance of Ge Er Man·Si Pa Luo, Ke Lai En lightly nodded in understanding, and then, under Tu Ba Ge's guidance, he and Lun Na De left the manor.

Patting his already full stomach, An De Sen lazily leaned back against the wooden chair and asked casually, "Can you foretell where I might obtain the 'Iron‑Blooded Knight' elixir formula?"

"Tomorrow's gathering."

"Ah?" An De Sen was startled, a bit incredulous, then he recalled something, quickly recovered, and exclaimed:

"Now I see why it felt familiar; everyone is on the same boat, the 'Hermit' is the 'Star General' Jia De Li Ya?"

An De Sen, with an excited and uneasy heart, waited until the next day; he lay in a window‑facing recliner, occasionally glancing at the wall clock he had set to Beckland Time.

As the hour hand reached the three‑o'clock mark, dense gray mist surged before his eyes, and deep red light rose from the mist, engulfing his entire field of vision.

When he came to his senses, he found himself inside a magnificent ancient palace above the gray mist; before he could survey his surroundings, he noticed an additional member beside him.

Black hair, eyes tinged green, a slightly awkward sitting posture, a laid‑back person like me, somewhat familiar—I must have met him before. An De Sen, while assessing the new member beside him, mentally compared him to acquaintances.

He quickly locked onto his target: the extraordinary who had previously teamed up with him to deal with Ins Zangweier, apparently named Lun Na De Mitchell, a night‑watcher from the Black Night Church! An De Sen's heart raced uncontrollably a couple of beats; he felt he had uncovered some hidden secret beneath the calm surface. Is this a covert collaboration between 'Fool' and the 'Night Goddess'? Or is the 'Fool' cultivating an undercover agent?

On the right side of the bronze long table, 'Justice' Ao Dai Li, just about to rise and bow, also noticed the newly added Lun Na De and sensed An De Sen's emotional shift.

It seemed that 'Chariot' recognized this new member? Moreover, this gentleman had been quickly and purposefully scanning the surroundings from the start—was he looking for someone? Someone he knew from the Tarot gathering? No, he probably didn't know 'Chariot'—his gaze hadn't lingered earlier.

While pondering, Ao Dai Li, rather delighted, rose from her seat, lifted her skirt slightly, and bowed toward the foremost 'Fool' gentleman, saying:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"

While greeting, as an extraordinary one on the Observer path, she keenly noticed some differences, those coming from Mr. Fool himself.

Mr. Fool's aura grew ever more lofty and ethereal, like an unfathomable ocean and an unattainable sky, as if merging with the entire palace and the whole space.

Besides the observant Ao Daili, Jia Delia, who has already been promoted to Mystic Scholar, also noticed the changes in Mr. Fool; having made her Eye of Secret Insight controllable, she observed more than Ao Daili.

Mr. Fool further revived. According to my speculation, Mr. Fool should be mastering the Diviner path; I do not know what aspect of authority these gray mists represent, and even though he is already a demigod, I still find it hard to discern the peculiarity of this gray mist.

As thoughts surged, Jia Delia also did not forget to bow and greet Mr. Fool, who sat at the very top.

After Leonard's slightly delayed bow and greeting, Mr. Fool Ke Lai En casually said, "This is Xing Xing; you all introduce yourselves."

(End of chapter)